UK: Michael Patrizi Croft preview

PATRIZI REFRESHED AND READY TO ATTACK THIS WEEKEND AT CROFT

Michael Patrizi is refreshed and ready to go after the mid-season break in this year's Formula BMW UK Championship entering this weekend's 11th and 12th rounds of the championship at the Croft circuit in England.

Patrizi is confident of improving on his seventh place in the championship standings after showing consistency and speed from his car at a recent test at the Snetterton circuit.

The West Australian took the opportunity to explore some of Europe in the break, venturing through Italy and Germany. The break also allowed his body to fully recover from the effects of the huge accident Patrizi suffered at Brands Hatch in June.

Now with his mind firmly back on racing, Patrizi is keen to get his first podium of the year at the technical Croft layout, which features both quick corners and very slow and tight hairpins, something that makes the circuit very hard to set a car up.

The 21-year-old is racing this season in the UK as a result of receiving a fully-funded deal from BMW Motorsport after impressing the world motoring giant with second overall and top rookie in the 2005 Formula BMW Asia Championship.

Patrizi also launches a new website today, giving all of his fans and followers a place to find all the latest news and results on his rising career.

MICHAEL PATRIZI
"After a long break this weekend at Croft will get the second half of the season underway," said Patrizi.

"I've had four weeks to rest and to think about how to rise up the order in the championship standings.

"On paper the Croft circuit looks like an exciting circuit and it should suit my driving style.

"I am going into the second half of the season with an aggressive attitude and I definitely want to improve on what we have been able to achieve so far. We've been giving it our all, but the team and I are going to be doing everything we can from now on to finish the season strongly, and that extra effort starts this weekend at Croft."

"We had a positive test day at Snetterton last week where we ran up the front on the time sheets. We were in the top four early and were happy with the car speed, so we used the afternoon session to do a long run, using it as a race simulation to work on race set-up. The times were very consistent on that stint and we took a lot from that test because of it."

-Michael Patrizi